Security: Why SMEs need technical excellence

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SMEs are exposed to exactly the same IT threats as large corporations - the Internet makes no distinctions. However, while multinational corporations employ large teams dedicated specifically to IT security, an SME must do its best with much smaller budgets. An attack would also have much more serious consequences, as theft of intellectual property or downtime could spell the end for a smaller business.

It is important to bear in mind that technology is not the problem here. Security has become a great deal cheaper over the past few years and professional solutions have become affordable for smaller-sized businesses. The financial difficulty lies in the staff training required to effectively operate many security solutions, especially as the business would have to cope without important members of staff for several days whilst the training took place. The alternative could end up as an incorrectly-configured firewall, which could cause more harm than good.